Bury St Edmunds’ third Comedy Festival will bring two months of rib-tickling, laugh-out-loud fun to Suffolk in February and March 2026.
Prepare for a side-splitting rollercoaster ride through two months filled with stand-up, outrageous improv and a comedy cocktail that’ll leave you in stitches in a town where the history is as rich as the punchlines.
Familiar venues will be transformed into laughter sanctuaries with a line-up of comedians who are masters of their craft. From clever observations to the downright absurd, the lineup is curated to cater for every comedic taste, ensuring that no funny bone is left untouched.
For the first time, there will be a competition to find Abbeygate Comedy Club’s Comedian of the Year 2026. The first heat will be held on Sunday, 25th January with further competitions on 8th and 22nd February leading up to the exciting final on Saturday, 28th February, all the heats will be ticketed events held in the Abbeygate Cinema. More details about the comedians taking part and how to book will be announced soon.
Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds comedy season begins on Wednesday evening, 4th February when Luke Wright brings his adoption to life in Later Life Letter, the fifth and latest collection of his poems. What’s it like to stumble across your birth mother on Facebook? How do you honour the parents who have raised you while satisfying a curiosity about where you came from? What is it telling if you marry a social worker? Wright navigates his audience through a warm and honest hour of poems and stand-up with the wit, pathos and silliness that has made him one of the most popular live poets in England.
Laughter at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds continues on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th February with Showstopper! An Improvised Musical. With 15 years as an Edinburgh Fringe must-see phenomenon, BBC Radio 4 series, critically acclaimed West End run and an Olivier Award to their name, The Showstoppers have delighted audiences across the globe with their ingenious blend of comedy, musical theatre and spontaneity. A brand new musical comedy is created from scratch at each performance as audience suggestions are transformed on the spot into all-singing, all dancing productions with hilarious results.
This is followed on Saturday,14th February when Daliso Chaponda takes the stage for his Topical Storm. Daliso has been writing jokes about the news for over a decade on Have I Got News For You, Radio 4′s News Quiz, Australia’s Good News Week and many more besides. But recently the news has been so absurd, chaotic and overwhelming that it more or less mocks itself. Where do we go from here? Topical Storm is Daliso’s response. A show not about THE news but about news itself.
Journalists, bloggers, fake news, satirical news, have we lost the thread of it all? Is the reporting of news endlessly polarising us as a society rather than educating us? Would we be better off going right back to the first ever news bulletin – the original caveman drawing on a wall – and starting from scratch? Daliso does just that in this explosive new standup show.
Fresh from a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds next comedy production is Pauline Eyre’s Anyone for Tennis?. A Wimbledon line judge for 20 years, Pauline is ready to spill the Pimm’s on tennis gossip from the fragrant royal box to the musty locker room, and why line judges are OUT! Expect smashing stories, ace anecdotes and a 40-love letter to the game. And there’s nobody to say ‘quiet please’. She cannot be serious… can she?
New for 2026, International Women’s Day will be marked on Sunday 8th March at Abbeygate Comedy Club with a special evening full of laughter. Details to follow soon.
The Apex entertainment centre is joining in the fun on Thursday, 12th March with Jason Manford’s live show, A Manford All Seasons. A nationally known stand-up comedian, writer, actor and radio and television host, Jason’s career spans various ITV shows including The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash, What Would Your Kid Do? Olivier Awards, The Nightly Show and The Royal Variety Performance. He has also appeared on BBC1’s First & Last and Live at the Apollo and was a team captain for Channel 4’s 8 out of 10 Cats.
Coming to The Apex on Friday, 20th March Tilting at Windmills is a new stand-up show from Channel 4’s Taskmaster alumni and double Edinburgh comedy award winner, John Kearns. His fragmented, digressing portrayal of a 38-year-old man’s life, alludes to books he hasn’t read and touches on the modern condition, plus VAT. John has also been seen on BBC’s Live at the Apollo, Sky’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks and his Sky stand-up special The Varnishing Days.
More fun nights are being added as the month gets nearer. To view the full line-up and book tickets priced from £12 per person as well as where to stay, shop, eat and drink visit www. burystedmundsandbeyond.co.uk/comedy-festival.
Bury St Edmunds Comedy Festival is a partnership project between Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, The Apex, The Hunter Club Arts Centre, Abbeygate Cinema and ICE. It is being coordinated by the town’s tourism brand Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, under Our Bury St Edmunds BID.
